UPDATE 1-JPMorgan does not need to issue equity: Citigroup

April 20 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Cotización) is
well-positioned to pass the U.S. government's stress test, and
it does not need to issue equity, said Citigroup, which raised
its price target on the U.S. banking giant's stock by 52
percent.

JPMorgan posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on
Thursday, demonstrating the kind of resilience that allowed
Chief Executive Jamie Dimon to assert the bank could pay back
the government $25 billion immediately. [ID:nN16542451]

"While we do not expect Troubled Asset Relief Program
repayment near-term, JPMorgan clearly has the financial
flexibility to repay the government when the time comes,
potentially as soon as later this year," analyst Keith Horowitz
said in a note to clients.

Citing better performance at JPMorgan's investment bank,
though offset by higher credit card losses, the analyst raised
his 2010 profit estimates for the bank by 15 cents to $3.30 a
share. He raised his price target on the stock to $35 from $23.

However, JPMorgan shares fell in morning trade after Bank
of America (BAC.N: Cotización) reported its first-quarter results and said
it continued to face "extremely difficult challenges,"
primarily from deteriorating credit quality. [ID:nN20380236]

Shares of JPMorgan were trading down about 4 percent at
$31.93 Monday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Anurag Kotoky in Bangalore; Editing by Anne
Pallivathuckal)